Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
  • G06F3/02—Input arrangements using manually operated switches, e.g. using keyboards or dials
  • G06F3/023—Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
  • G06F3/02—Input arrangements using manually operated switches, e.g. using keyboards or dials
  • G06F3/023—Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
  • G06F3/0233—Character input methods
  • G06F3/0237—Character input methods using prediction or retrieval techniques

Definitions

• Touch screens that require the grouping of letters in each 'touch box' have similar problems to those of the telephone-style keypad, and others as well. Touch screens that attempt to use one letter per box significantly reduce the amount of display area available for other purposes (such as the space needed to display the sentence being entered), and/or reduce the display size of the letters and/or the size of their boxes, which increases input errors on small devices. Similar problems are associated with a telephone-style keypad or a touch-pad for phonetic input of character-based languages. Written entry of these languages using an electronic pad requires a great deal of computer memory and storage, and is prone to as many or more recognition problems for the computer as is experienced with Western languages.
• the present invention provides a text input system which may be used with computers, wireless phones or other devices or systems, and which is applicable to both ideographic and non-ideographic languages.
• a user inputs text through a rapid, intuitive process in which word or character candidates are presented to the user based on frequency of use -not of full words or whole characters— but of the various sequences of letters (or strokes in Chinese-character-based languages) that are used to construct words or characters.
• the user need only specify the first letter or stroke of the word or character that is desired.
• Figure 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for text input constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention
• Figure 4 shows the face of a wireless phone which provides six keys, four arrow keys, a 'select word' key and a 'select letter' key, to allow text input in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention
• Figure 6 is a high level flowchart illustrating the overall operation of a text input system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention
• Figures 7 A and 7B show a series of sequential screen displays which illustrate the functioning of the invention for alphabetic and other non-character- based languages
• Figure 3 shows the traditional, handwritten stroke sequences used to form three ideographic Chinese characters.
• the character denoted by reference number 18, which means “faction” or “party,” is formed by a total of four strokes.
• the character denoted by reference number 20, which means “normal' or “usual,” is formed by a total of six strokes.
• the character denoted by reference number 22, which means “palm of the hand” or “administer,” is formed by a total of eight strokes.
• the 'Word-List Screens' each preferably displays lists of complete words that begin with specific letter groups.
• the related word list for any letter group on which the cursor rests can be accessed from any work screen at any point in word entry by simply pressing a key.
• the 'Special Functions' screen which provides access to such functions as modifying or erasing previously entered text files , modifying earlier portions of the present text file, or accessing the 'Manual Work Screen'. It can be accessed form the 'Start Screen' or from any 'Work Screen'.
• the desired word ' which' is not selected until its appearance on the Five-Letter work screen by which time it has been tracked letter-by- letter until it is complete. It should be understood that this is not the only way in which words can be accessed, nor always the most efficient nor the least confusing for the user. Wherever possible and appropriate the process might automatically jump directly from a three letter group to a five or six letter group; in other words we are not restricted to Work Screens that move only letter by letter. And we can choose to let the user simply select from a list of likely completed words at any point, words of various lengths, if desired.
• the preferred embodiment of the invention offers this next word placing it parenthetically at the top of the column in the left-hand portion of the work page. For example, if, following the word 'water', the first letter offered for the next word is a 'b', the 'next-candidate word' offered could be 'buffalo'. The user can access it by using the up-arrow, or, if it is not wanted, can ignore it, and it will go away when user action has shown that the search is for a different word.
• the computer will understand at the point that 'bo' is accepted that the user may want the word 'board'; the computer will then offer the word 'blackboard'. If 'blackboard' is accepted by the user, it goes to the text line as a single word, replacing 'black'. If ignored, it goes away. If such a word should be hyphenated, it will appear in hyphenated form, both when offered and, if accepted, on the text line. If the word is hyphenated in the accepted form, it will appear as such on the work screens.
• This invention handles the Chinese characters used in Chinese, Japanese and Korean in much the same way that it handles the words used in other languages, such as in the example given above for English.
• the appearance of the screen displays is naturally different, since we are dealing with characters and the beginning stroke groups of characters rather than with words and the beginning letter groups of words, but the basic idea is the same.
• the pace at which the work screens move in the development of the desired character can be built to vary from character to character and even within the development of the same character.
• the character for tree also begins with a two-stroke group which is a common beginning for an even greater number of characters than are begun with the 4-stroke group that is used for tree.
• the two letter group 'ac' that begins the word 'act' is the beginning of a great many more words than are begun with 'act'.
• the number of characters with which a stroke group begins is not the point. The point is how many times that beginning stroke group can be expected to appear in text— its frequency-of-use. It is possible that it appears with high frequency only because of the frequent use of one or two characters— even though it may appear as the beginning of dozens or even hundreds of characters.
• any of its beginning stroke group sequences could have a high frequency of occurrence if it is a beginning stroke group sequence of a large number of such characters. It is also possible that a character that is used quite frequently starts in a way that few other high frequency characters do, and so has a beginning stroke group sequence with only moderate, or even low, frequency of use. This means the character will emerge more quickly, since few others with its beginning stroke group sequences have a significant frequency-of use.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Input From Keyboards Or The Like (AREA)
• Document Processing Apparatus (AREA)
• Machine Translation (AREA)
• Telephone Set Structure (AREA)

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Cited By (8)

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Citations (1)

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• 2000
  • 2000-01-04 CN CNB008022909A patent/CN1140868C/zh not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-01-04 WO PCT/US2000/000135 patent/WO2000041062A2/en active IP Right Grant
  • 2000-01-04 KR KR1020017008525A patent/KR100704804B1/ko active IP Right Grant
  • 2000-01-04 AU AU24892/00A patent/AU2489200A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-01-04 JP JP2000592721A patent/JP4504571B2/ja not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-01-04 DE DE60003521T patent/DE60003521T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-01-04 EP EP00903096A patent/EP1145102B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-01-04 AT AT00903096T patent/ATE243864T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation

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Non-Patent Citations (3)

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